NEW DELHI: Financial bidding for A and A+ category cities of FM radio is in progress. A total of 29 companies in 13 cities have applied for licenses for A and A+ categories. The frequency on offer number over 60.
As per the latest information available with indiantelevision.com, HT Music and Entertainment, Radio Mid-Day West WW and Adlabs have bagged multiple licenses in the metro cities.
Some of the other companies that have bid for A, A+ categories include Entertainment Network India Ltd (Radio Mirchi), BAG Films, Radio Today, Music Broadcast Private Limited (Radio City), Raj TV, Muthoot Finance, Clear Media, Rajasthan Patrika, Delhi Press Prakashan and TV9 Associates.
HT Music, which quoted Rs 350 million for Mumbai, has emerged as the highest bidder in major cities for which bids have been opened till now.
Adlabs has placed bids for licences in six cities while HT Music is confident of bagging licences in all the four cities they have bid for.
Adlabs is eyeing Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai while HT Music has bid for Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Adlabs has quoted Rs 280 million for Delhi & Mumbai, Rs 60 million for Kolkata and Hyderabad, Rs 90 million for Chennai and Rs 120 million for Bangalore. 
Including Adlabs, there were seven bidders for six frequencies in Delhi. Radio Mid-Day West quoted the highest Rs 314.2 million. HT's bid was slightly over Rs 280 million while Pan India Infravest Network Ltd. (Essel Group Company) quoted Rs 75 and Clear Media Rs 133.3 million.
In Kolkata, there were nine bids for five frequencies. Radio Mid-Day West bid Rs 32.1 million while HT Music quoted a little over Rs 60 million, Radio Today Rs 32.4 million and Ananda Offset slightly over Rs 50 million.
The proceedings are slated to go on for few hours as government officials open the bids, kept in separate boxes for each city, in front of authorised representatives from the bidding companies.
The cities that fall in the A and A+ categories are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Nagpur, Jaipur, Lucknow and Kanpur.
Radio Mirchi, a leading FM radio operator, is believed to have bid for Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Kanpur and Surat.
Keep tuned as we bring you more details straight from the place (first floor of Shastri Bhawan in Delhi) where the bids are being opened now.

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